Since 1980s, due to the reflection on westernization research methods, there has been a moderate resurgence in the study of ancient literature. The method of class analysis has indeed been difficult to be used in officially published articles, appreciation dictionaries are overwhelming, and textual research has re-established its important position. The position of the three people has been adjusted. Textual research has restored its important position; Westernization research has changed to sociology and culturology, and the theory has been updated, and prototype criticism, structuralism, hermeneutics and cultural anthropology have appeared one after another; Only appreciation is still regarded as dispensable by a considerable number of researchers and regarded as an unscientific symbol in literary research.
Explaining China's ancient literature with western theories has not achieved much in the past, but it is still a controversial issue. However, it is easy to achieve results with western theories, which is more beneficial to the evaluation of professional titles. Textual research, or the method of philology, as the basis of ancient literature, is extremely important, and it is also the need to know people and discuss the world, but textual research is not the literature research itself.
It turns out that literary research still needs enlightenment. Different from scientific research in other disciplines, literary research has always had conclusions before analysis; Instead of analyzing first and then drawing conclusions. Of course, this conclusion is the conclusion of aesthetic intuition, not a theoretical preconception. Possession of sufficient and accurate materials is the basis of literary research, but the materials used in literary research are graded. General literary works and related historical materials that have lost their literary vitality can be called materials, but it is not appropriate to call literary works that still have vitality as materials.
Lin Geng's A Comprehensive Review of Tang Poetry is a real literary study. In a series of articles in A Comprehensive Review of Tang Poetry, we can see that appreciation is not only a dispensable ornament, but also the foundation, itself and purpose of literature and literary research. And appreciation ability is an indispensable ability in literary research.
Different from ordinary appreciation articles, Mr. Lin Geng's articles are not practical, but they have a broad vision and a comparative perspective. Mr. Lin Geng's article can grasp the essence of the object, not generalize it. However, Mr. Lin Geng's article has never stipulated the rigid concept of object, and his method to solve many problems is to determine the scope of object from comparison. It should be said that this is a research method beyond the limit of rationality. This is one of the unique features of China's ancient literary criticism method.
In the comprehensive theory of Tang poetry, the most famous is the weather in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. The theme of this article is clear. As we read it slowly, the elusive object of the prosperous Tang Dynasty gradually becomes clear: the atmosphere of the prosperous Tang Dynasty is different from the Jian 'an style because it also has rich muscles, and rich muscles explain this bone more powerfully. The weather in the prosperous Tang Dynasty is unpredictable because it is so rich that it can only be explained by a piece of weather, which is a richer development of Jian 'an style. However, the meteorological chaos in the Han and Wei Dynasties was not false. In the prosperous Tang dynasty, it was because I realized the attainments of catching and answering, and explained it in simple terms. Because the Han and Wei dynasties did not devote themselves to chasing images, the images were simple and complete, and it was difficult to extract sentences. Just like an undeveloped mine, this is meteorological chaos. In the prosperous Tang Dynasty, it gained the most direct and vivid image because of its efforts in catching and chasing. It seems to be a real mineral deposit in Jin Meiyu, emitting strange brilliance in a beautiful way. This is not chaos, but vigorous. In this way, the weather in the prosperous Tang Dynasty established its own characteristics in comparison with Jian 'an style and ancient poems of Han and Wei dynasties.
After reading this, I can't help sighing about Mr. Lin's writing skills and writing skills. Yan Yu's "Analysis of Canglang Poetry" said: The people in the Tang Dynasty are not clumsy in poetry and have different weather. He also said: there are shallow understanding, limited understanding, thorough understanding and half-baked understanding. Han, Yi, non-false enlightenment; Xie Lingyun arrived in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and he had a thorough understanding. Tang people are still interested; Poems in Han and Wei Dynasties are rich in meaning and untraceable. Ancient poems in Han and Wei dynasties are confusing and difficult to extract. There is a good saying about Kim's return to Israel. It should be said that Mr. Lin's article inherited Yan Yu's basic viewpoint, but Mr. Lin condensed Yan Yu's scattered words into a whole with images, compared richness with chaos with metaphors, highlighted the characteristics of Tang poetry and emphasized its artistic position beyond Han and Wei ancient poems.
Seeing this, I can't help but think of today's mainstream appreciation theory: carrots and vegetables, each with his own love. Which means there's no difference in taste. Of course, if we spend some time, we may find that the theoretical root of radish theory can be traced back to reception theory or Foucault. Anyway, today is a noisy era. No one dares to say that his works are the best, and no one dares to think that his taste is not worse than others. The line between good works and bad works is blurred, and critics have changed. He no longer cares about the quality of his works and is no longer keen on arranging the writer's seat. This is an era of aesthetic relativism.
In such an era, it is risky to say that one work is better than another. Some readers will ask: Why is XX's work bad? I like it! You have your opinion, and I have my vision!
In fact, the quality of a work is the basic premise of appreciation. The sharper a person's sense of beauty, the more subtle the differences between works. Lin Yutang once said that he only reads extremely advanced books and extremely low-level books, because he is the most insatiable, because he steals the middle stream. Lu Xun has a very incisive evaluation of this: this fully shows his lack of confidence. Indeed, Lin Yutang denied the middle stream and only defended his low taste with relativism, while he flaunted himself as extremely high-class just to hide his lack of confidence.
It is specious to say that the difference between the works and the recipients proves the lack of interest. We overemphasize the uniqueness of the receiver and ignore the transcendence of excellent works. In fact, when reading a work, the uniqueness of the individual is negligible. A work has been honed for thousands of years and spread to this day, which itself shows its transcendence. As readers, when reading a work, we should forget ourselves and reflect on why we can't accept those classic works that have experienced the baptism of time. Literary works are divided into high and low, refined and popular. How to distinguish between elegance and vulgarity is the starting point and basic task of literary criticism and research.
In his article, Mr. Lin Geng gave a wonderful explanation of the weather in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. If the article ends here, then we say that this article has a strong character. However, this section is the real crowning touch of this article, because it makes the article reach the general meteorology of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Although romanticism, people and other popular words are also used, the theme of the text completely transcends these concepts. In this section, Mr. Lin Geng takes the form of commenting on ancient poems. Please see:
Li Bai's Song of Lu Shan's Secretariat of Lu Xuzhou: Lu Shan stands beside the Big Dipper, and I climb high and look far. I look at the whole world, the clouds stretch into silk like nine screens, the vast rivers are gone forever, the yellow clouds are blown away by the wind for hundreds of miles, and the snow-white snow peaks are surrounded by whirlpools of nine streams. Lin Comment: The melody of youth and unlimited prospects are the common features of poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Li Bai's "Hengjiang Ci": Human nature is good, and farming in inherent vice. A gust of wind blew down the mountain for three days, and the white waves were higher than the crock pavilion. Lin Comments: In the sinister wind and waves, such a spectacular situation was written, just like the thrilling' Song of the Times' which was difficult in Shu Dao. And this short poem, like a folk song, is it good to say that Hengjiang is evil or to praise Hengjiang in a deeper level? This is the rich singing in real life. Contradiction is impossible in real life, but the overwhelming brilliant image shows the growth of an era's character that can withstand the wind and waves.
The most wonderful thing is the comment on Li Bai's Into the Wine: Have you ever seen how the water of the Yellow River moves out of the sky and into the ocean, never to return? Have you seen the lovely hair in the bright mirror in the high room, although it is still silky black in the morning, it turns into snow at night? Oh, let a man with spirit take risks where he wants to go, and never point his golden cup at the moon empty! . I was born useful, spinning a thousand pieces of silver, all come back! . Cook a sheep, kill a cow, sharpen your appetite, and let me, 300 bowls, take a big drink! . Master Cen, Dan Qiusheng can drink and drink endlessly. Let me sing you a song! Please listen to me. How expensive are the bells and drums? Let me get drunk forever and lose my mind forever! . The sober and sage of the old days were forgotten, and only the drinker kept his name. Chen bought a barrel of wine with 10 thousand gold coins at a banquet in the temple, and everyone laughed and said one-liners Why do you say, my master, your money is gone? , to buy wine, we drink together! . Five flower horses, golden jubilee, give them to the boy for good wine, and share the eternal sorrow with you!
According to Mr. Lin Geng's analysis, if you look at the literal words, you will only say that you have a lot on your mind, and your feelings will be too heavy if you worry for a long time. But the full image is the real achievement of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. If compared with Li Houzhu's Young Beauty, how much sorrow can you have, just like a river flowing eastward, this image is not a prosperous Tang Dynasty, but a miserable prosperous Tang Dynasty. So is it necessary to use the Yangtze River and the Yellow River to form the weather of the prosperous Tang Dynasty? How about Wang Changling's "Lotus Inn and Xin Jian Parting"? Misty rain enveloped Wu's day overnight; Send you in the morning, lonely and sad in Chushan! Friends, if my friends in Luoyang invite me; Just say I'm still Bing Xin Okho, and stick to my faith! Mr. Lin Geng said: The prosperous Tang Dynasty was full of weather and vitality because it was abundant in every corner of life. Exaggerated to white hair and three thousands of feet, as small as a piece of Bing Xin is not small in a jade pot. Just like a little dandelion, it dazzles the whole spring world.
Obviously, teacher Lin's comments are different from the appreciation articles in the popular appreciation dictionary. From here, we can understand why the ancients used brief comments. In the appreciation of works, we should pay special attention not to pretend to be the master, and appreciate the words not to override the works. The so-called appreciation, our purpose is to guide others into the realm of works, not to appreciate when people gallop their talents. It's a bit like playing basketball. When the ball reaches the basket, it can be sent gently, because the ball itself has speed, so it is too much to push hard.
The weather in the prosperous Tang Dynasty has always been called teacher Lin's masterpiece, the so-called youth, the weather in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. In my opinion, in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the demonstration significance of the new leaves was more obvious than the weather. If Meteorology in the Prosperous Tang Dynasty is mainly an expression of the proposition of accumulated salary put forward by predecessors, the article Talking about Mu Ye is more original. Its language is vivid and beautiful, and its analysis is exquisite, especially the author's keen aesthetic feeling is reflected in it, which is amazing.
Du Fu's masterpiece "Ascending the Mountain": high winds in the sky, apes singing and birds singing, blue lakes and white sands, returning to the nest. Leaves fall like a waterfall, and the Yangtze River rolls in. Li in the sad autumn scenery, a wanderer all the year round, lives alone on the high platform in today's illness. After all the hardships and hatred, the white hair is full, and the wine glasses are damaged. Among them, the leaves fall like the spray of a waterfall. I believe everyone will have a similar feeling when reading this poem: falling wood is too strange. If you look up the notes, falling wood means falling leaves. So we let it go easily, thinking it was an exegetical problem. There are too many such examples in ancient poetry.
However, Mr. Lin Geng found in the article On Leaves of Wood that leaves were rarely used in ancient poetry. Dongting waves under the leaves (Qu Yuan's Nine Songs) and hearing the cold beat of the washing hammer shake off the leaves (Shen Quanqi's Ancient Meaning) are all related to autumn. The autumn moon shines on the mountains, and the cold wind sweeps the tall trees (Wu Jun answers Liu Yun). Can't you use a big tree? Yes, there are many trees in Hengtai and the sea waves are rippling. (Cao Zhi's "Noda's oriole") However, the trees are full and the trees are high.
It turns out that although there is no difference in concept between konoha and leaves, there is a great difference in poetic language. The potential image of wood is wood, wood and board, which excludes leaves, so the leaves of wood suggest falling leaves. On the other hand, trees are luxuriant in branches and leaves, which are associated with dense shade. So there are more tips. Wood feels dry, not wet. The color may be yellow, while trees are green and wet to the touch. So konoha belongs to the wind, not to the rain, to the bright and sunny sky, not to the heavy cloudy day. As for falling wood? Broader than konoha, it even washes away the strong meaning of the word leaves:
Luomu Qian Shan Tianyuan
Fully illustrates this emptiness; It's time to give up tenderness.
Finally, Mr. Lin lamented that there is only one word difference between leaves and leaves, and the concepts of wood and tree are similar. However, in the field of artistic image, the difference here is almost a word difference.
When we read Mr. Lin Geng's Talking about Konoha, we feel the same way. When we read Mr. Lin Geng's "Say Konoha", we also feel that it is almost worth a word difference.
The difference between trees and wood is a genius discovery. I don't know if the ancients realized this difference when writing poems, but I believe that even if the ancients were at the bottom and talked to him about the difference between trees and wood, he would sincerely admire it.
Mr. Wang Weihui once described the changes in the use of words between trees from the perspective of linguistics. From ancient times to the Middle Ages, the word tree replaced the word wood. However, since this replacement has been completed in the Tang Dynasty, it is enough to show that poets in the Tang Dynasty and before and after it still prefer to use wood leaves instead of leaves: this is still a poetic problem rather than a purely linguistic one.
Every article in A Comprehensive Review of Tang Poetry has its own wonderful points. Such as "Green" and "The Vitality and New Essence of Poetry" are all ingenious. Moreover, starting from the work itself, rather than from the theory, I really have a little knowledge, rather than using the topic to play. Mr. Lin said 60 years ago: Today, we are in the stage of renewing this ancient history, so poetry should strive for this era with all its strength, just like planting dwarf pines on a desertified copper mountain. Today, compared with 60 years ago, the desertification of culture has a more serious trend. Mr. Lin's remarks deserve everyone engaged in literary work to think deeply.
Knowing that Mr. Lin was very late, or 1995, when I was studying for a master's degree at Wuhan University, Mr. Xiong recommended Mr. Lin's Comprehensive Theory of Tang Poetry to us, so I borrowed this book from the library and read it again. I remember it was shocking. I was watching Say Muye. The distinction between trees and wood in Say Muye gives me an unattainable feeling. Since then, another question has appeared in my mind: how did the author think of this? How did the author come up with the idea of distinguishing between trees and wood? Therefore, when I saw an interview with Mr. Lin Geng by the son of the Orient on TV, I had a feeling similar to that of a star fan. It's just a pity that I didn't hear the answer to that lingering question.
I met Mr. Lin Geng at 1998 in the last century. At that time, I was preparing for the entrance examination for doctoral students in Peking University. Mistaken into the quiet Yannan Garden. Hey, isn't that Mr. Lin I saw on TV last time?
So, in Mr. Lin's home, the quiet Yannanyuan No.62, there was the following dialogue:
How did you come up with the idea of distinguishing between trees and wood?
Because I see that leaves are rarely mentioned in ancient poems, but leaves of wood are very common.
Oh! It's that simple! But how did the author come up with it?
Don't chase it! As far as literary research is concerned, one can certainly master a lot of materials and make immortal achievements. However, just doing this always feels a bit alienated from literature, right? As Wang Guowei said, seeing flowers in the fog is separated by a layer. So how did Mr. Lin think of the difference between trees and wood? Maybe at that moment?
Perhaps the difference between people is at this moment.